Best way to rip a tapered jamb extension
geoffhazel
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
This project house I’m on now has windows tilted at all kinds of angles, and the jamb extensions are typically something like 1 3/8 at one end to 1 3/16 at the other end. I’ll be ripping a 1x stock of MDF and am wondering what is an efficient and accurate way to rip these down? I’m working freehand on the tablesaw now (lowest common denominator) but as y’all know, it’s not very precise, fast, or safe.
I recall seeing some posts here about the EZ system (or something along those lines) but the videos are now gone. I could even pop for a new tool if it wasn’t horrendously expensive; I have to taper-rip a whole bunch of these, every window is cock-eyed.
Replies
Check out the Eureka Zone videos on You Tube. Some of them show tapering 1X material.
mel
I have ripped a bazillion tapered extension jambs by freehanding them on a table saw and finishing them off with my little Delta jointer planer.
Nothing could be faster or cheaper...even tho I am always looking for an excuse to buy a new tool.
Not to pimp the EZ but unless you own a TS and Jointer the EZ even with the coveted Hilti 267 will be a bunch cheaper. I have three table saws and a commercial jointer and would do this on the EZ.
Using a long straight edge, and a Skilsaw,rip off slightly wider than needed straight and parallel 'filler strips' (Extensions.)
They'll stand 'proud' but ready to plane level with the rock. Glue and nail in place THEN, plane flush with existing wall.
I've done plenty using a router with a added half shoe of 1/8" thick Masonite attached to the router's base with double sided tape.
The 1/2" straight router bit should be extended the same 1/8"
Faster than hand planing Steinmetz.
I'm puzzled about the nailing in place part. How do you avoid damaging the plane/router bit when hitting a nail? Seems like glue first, plane, and then maybe add a nail if it is really necessary. Maybe use a little CA or hot glue to hold in place?
The strips are tack nailed just till the glue dries. After it dries. you can remove them.
That 'shoe' that I mentioned, is a semicircular piece of 1/8"Masonite. Assuming your router has a six inch radios,describe a 6" circle on the material but just cut out half the disc., you'll have to also cut a center half circle to accommodate the router bit. When the shoe is stuck on to the base, it raises the router's base 1/8" above the sheet rock surface. The router bit acts like a planer and while riding up the wall it works like a scriber but follows the surface of the wall and eats away any high spots that stick up prouder than the rock Good luck. Steinmetz.
Edited 6/6/2007 8:57 pm ET by Steinmetz
An EZ guide works great for this, as does a festool guide, as does a homemade shoot board. A steady free hand on the TS also works well.
Another way I was going to suggest was rip em large and use a sharp block plane to adjust, but then realized you'r using mdf, for that just rip em shy and use some carpenter in a tube to fill up the gap.
i have a taper jig/guide for my table saw... i've never used it but saw a guy cutting tapered covers for porch posts with one... seemed to cut dead on... not sure where you'd get one... think mine is "craftsman" but prob 20yrs old
tools i've never used... but looking for the chance
p
The festool TS 55 would work very well and everyone that owns it says it is worth every penny. I've never seen or heard anyone say that they regretted buying the festool. They all seem to love it.
To be completely honest....and assuming this is paint grade work as you are using MDF...if 3/16 of an inch is the difference from top of window to bottom, ripping the extensions may be more work than its worth.
If the situation is as I'm envisioning, I might just try "cheating" it.
A little light at one end....maybe a little heavy at the other.
Caulk where necessary.
Especially if you plan to prefab your casings before installation.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
Yeah, that's what I was thinking; a lot of work for 3/16.
I trimmed a huge lake house once in clear pine and every window installed in the great room main-view-of-lake-wall had the jams flush to the drywall at the top and was in 1/4" at the bottom. I used a bunch of screen molding to build out the lams, then nailed the casing through the screen molding into the jam. Flex the casing tight to the wall and nail away...problem solved.
"I never met a man who didn't owe somebody something."
Yup...lottsa stuff can be "cheated" and never picked up by eye.
Obviously, I'd have to actually see this particular situation for myself....but I can't imagine ripping all of the extensions for a 3/16" difference.
J. D. ReynoldsHome Improvements
Also a lot of times we used to smash the drywall flush to the jam.
"I never met a man who didn't owe somebody something."
Smash it, shave it....whatever works. Drywall is so imperfect a surface, creativety is just as important as craftsmanship.
J. D. ReynoldsHome Improvements
rip to size...
plane to finish for that much...
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If you have access to a radial arm saw, this is a piece of cake. You set the saw up to rip with the blade a short distance (say 1") from the edge of the table. Mark the board you want to cut 1" plus the dimension you want at each end. If, for example, you want to cut a shim 1/2" to nothing over 8', you mark an 8' board 1" at one end an 1.5" at the other.
Now clamp a straight piece of 1x material to the board you wish to cut. Put one edge on each mark. Then crank up the RAS and make the cut, running the edge of your guide board against the front of the RAS table.
Easier done than described.
Efficient or accurate, which would you rather have? Firstly, I hate MDF for extension jambs, to many splits when trying to nail through the edge. For tapers that matter (stain grade), I'll rip a scrap of anything straight (3/4" birch ply is good) a little longer than my longest piece, about 6 inches wide. Once I rip it, I don't touch the fence setup. Then I tack my jamb stock to this piece at the necessary angle, usually just two or three brads to keep it attached to the 1x6, then run the 1x6 through the saw. Basically just a homemade taper jig.
You can use any straight edge and guide system
until you get down to narrow pieces.
The only tool that can clamp and cut narrow pieces... EZ
Note that you don't need a cutting table
Complete instructions here:
http://eurekazone.com/gallery/smart-clamping-tutorials
View Image
Or, you can use the new Bridge with the Big Foot?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAveFBfaBIU
david.
'Got to agree 100% with David on this one. I use the EZ Smart on a daily basis and it sure makes dealing with a non-square cut a piece of cake. It also works great for cutting those really thin pieces that we sometimes need.
Burt
I clamp a long straight board or even a 6' level to the tablesaw fence. Set the width to the widest point of the taper and add a shim the thickness of the taper to the other. If it's a hard to rip piece I may pin the shim to the jamb ext.
Another option is using a straight board the same length as the jamb ext stock and placing a shim between them on one end and running the two boards through the saw at the same time. If there's not a long straight board on site for the first option this can be a good way to go.
If that somehow seems too difficult a 6" x length of jamb ext stock piece of 3/4" ply is used as a slide which the jamb material is attached to. Run the ply through the saw to see the exact cut line then adjust the jamb ext so the waste is cut. The simplest is using a pinner to attach the jamb ext to the ply although many guys add clamps to such a board if it's used a lot. This is probably safer than the option above, but it's much slower.
MDF will have a relatively short life if the window developes condensation of any kind.
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
In my experience,
(20+ years of carpentry)
tapered extension jambs are rarely STRAIGHT tapers.
usually there is a bow or dip or sommat to deal with.
You dont need to folly the wall exactly
scribing and freehanding will give the best results.
I wish I knew how to insert an annoying Martha Stewart Banner in my tagline....
If I had a lot to do, and ready access to a decent table saw, I think I'd make up a jig. Start with a piece of 3/4" plywood (or maybe 2 pieces of 1/2") 5-10 inches longer than your longest rip, and 3-4 inches wider than the widest piece of stock you'd be ripping from. Attach a 2-3 inch wide piece of relatively straight, stiff wood to that using T slots or rails in the plywood, with T bolts and threaded knobs. Two bolts for a short jig, 3 bolts for a longer one. Add toggle clamps to the top of this "fence" to hold the workpiece down.
MDF!?
You be a glutton for punishment! What did you do wrong in your past life?
;)
When I was first starting out, I would cut it to length, hold it in place, and scribe by tracing with pencil held on the wall side, then use my circ saw to cut, then a bit of planing to finalize and clean it up.
Then I went to freehanding on a tablesaw. A bit easier, if not safer or more accurate.
Then I learnt to attach it to a piece of straight guide stock to send thru the TS. That is safer but slower.
I have done some too with the EZ guide, which reminded me of my original method, except easier.
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Yesterday I tried the "sled method", using my 18ga brad nailer w/1" nails to attach the piece to the sled, a scrap of 1/2" MDO. It worked like a charm, although removing the piece and nails was a pain. All the pieces fit perfectly, something I have a hard time achieving with freehand cutting.
I think today I'll drill some holes in the sled w/countersinks and use some short drywall screws. It should be much easier to zip the screws in and out than it is prying the board off the sled and then yanking the nails out of whichever piece they are stuck in.
I like the sled method (for now) because it's producing quality cuts safely; that's worth an extra minute per cut to me.
although removing the piece and nails was a pain.
To make unpinning the piece easier I've grown fond of pinning through a cedar shim so when the shim is pulled off the pin's head is proud of the wood and easily grabbed and pulled out with end nipper pliers.
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
The shim idea is good.
I found that using 3/4" screws in countersinked holes worked great. Easy in, easy out.
This is where you want those "destaco" hold-down clamps I mentioned. They screw down to the sled then instead of nailing to the sled just flip the clamp levers on the stock at the taper you want, and rip.
I just use clamps.
Use a jointer. First I rip the piece to the widest width plus a hair on the table saw. Then I make a tick mark on the end that will be the narrower width. I now go to the jointer and pull the guard back and insert the wide end the piece just ahead of the cutter. I make several light passes until I come up to the tick mark plus a hair. Now I make one final pass to remove the hair and I have a perfect taper. I clean up the jointer tool marks with a block plane. If you don't have a jointer then you should not be doing finish work. JMHO.
I have an EZ smart too but I would never use it for a tapered jamb extension. It would take too long.
If you don't have a jointer then you should not be doing finish work.
I'm amazed at how few finish carps ever use a jointer. It sure can make life easier.
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
L O V E my jointer!!
"I never met a man who didn't owe somebody something."
My dad did too, until it took his finger off.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
what do you have, what did it cost and how do you get it on the job site? How's that for a list of demands!
I never brought it to the jobsite. I am (was) a cabinet maker.
"I never met a man who didn't owe somebody something."
Yup.
Sure, I like my jointer too, but I'm sure as s*** not going to lug it to a job for a few window jamb extensions. It must weigh 150-225lbs.For paint grade - I've had pretty good luck installing the jambs a bit proud then planing them down flush to the drywall with a cordless 3 1/4" (Bosch 18) planer.With a vac hooked up - no dust and it's as smooth as a baby's bottom and pretty easy to get even with the drywall without making a huge mess.JT
I hate to admit it, but on more than a few occations I've been planing down jamb extentions in place and everything is going fine until the last pass on the last corner and the intersecting jamb extension finds it's way into the blades, it pulls the plane down sideways and a big chunk is tossed out the side.
It was so time consuming to fix these goofs that I'm now a big chicken and cut slightly beveled to the outside of the corners and finish off with a hand plane. I've even considered temporarily tacking a wood block on the corners so the electric plane couldn't dig in, but haven't tried it yet.
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
"the last pass on the last corner"good grief, does THAT ever ring a bell. Not sure how many times it's been the last pass....One buddy of mine watched his co-worker nailing trim around the top edge of the wall under a fixed pane skylight... last nail.... tipped the corner of the glass, and the whole tempered pane came down in seconds all over the room in tiny little bits.
Last nail,---- 4x8' picture window ina day care office,--- it wasn't tempered. Don't know where they got that huge piece of glass and DIYed a picture window with it. Do know what the new tempered replacement and installation cost :(
Dave
Maybe I'm describing a 'shoot board' as previously mentioned, but I made a deal from plywood to cut a straight edge on one side of a wavy or rough board on the table saw.
Cut a scrap of ply 8" or so wide, and as long as your longest jamb ext will be. Then glue and screw another strip, 2.5" wide to the fence side of your 8" scrap. Then get 2 or 3 "Destaco Clamps" -- adjustable hold-down clamps mounted on the 2.5" piece that will hang out over 8" scrap to hold down your workpiece.
Now you have a long, straight guide to run against your table saw fence what you can use to straighten a long piece, or for tapers, just pull the piece out at one end however much you want to taper, set the saw and rip away.
I use this thing all the time.